My Hatred Comes Unbound
by Nami Child
Summary: Mello has been suspended from all his classes due to awful misbehaviour. In a race to be number one, how will he manage to do so if he cannot attend his classes?
1. Deal

**Deal**

Nami Child

_**Author's**** Note:**_ **Sadly, I don't own Death Note. These characters belong to Ohba-san and Obata-san. And um... This is my very first fanfic, so please be nice! Constructive criticism is lovely! Review? :D**

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_The children were gathered at the foot of Roger's office, staring at the locked door and awaiting (with sick glee) the verdict. Of course, they didn't like punishments, but just as we stop and stare at a car accident -anticipating the outcomes- they also wanted to see the results of rebellion. Because there was a student behind those locked, heavy doors who has chosen to ignore all the rules and regulations, and has decided to do whatever he pleases. That student was Mello- the second most gifted, the second child at Wammy's House who had the ability to gain the title of the World's Greatest. However, being the second didn't suit his tastes at all, ergo he felt the need to show that he could be number one at things that no child at Wammy's would think of doing. For example, last week it was buying a vintage Harley Davidson motorbike and riding it through the streets of Winchester, despite the rules that clearly prohibited any student from leaving the orphanage grounds after seven pm. After he got caught, or rather, after he showed no need to hide from the cameras, nor the eyes of the guards, he was called into Roger's office. Mello didn't really care. His reply to the obvious wrongdoings was "It was _before_ seven pm, Roger. Hell, it was three in the morning! Besides, there's no rule that forbids me from going off grounds early in the morning." Hearing such an intelligent argument, Roger merely shook his head and Mello knew that he was off the hook… For the millionth time. _

_However, this week__ was __entirely different. The blond rebel was in Roger's office for more than half an hour. This wasn't a very happy omen. The young kids- who undoubtedly looked up to Mello- sat fidgeting and sharing anxious glances, very unlike the older kids. They were standing on their toes, excited to see the "Great Mello" humiliated and punished. Only a small handful of kids did not care for the drama; children like Near and Matt. Matt was hunched over his DS battling fictional monsters, whereas Near... He was in that room only because that's where he usually was. In a corner, playing with his robots and other somewhat evil-looking puppets._

* * *

Mello was staring at the wall behind Roger. _Don't make eye contact with that dumbass,_ he told himself over and over and over again. His entire face was hurting, but he didn't care. He won after all; the sweet flavour of victory bursting at the back of his throat. Nevertheless, it ached, and he was sporting large purplish bruises on his face, as well as a bloody nose and a swollen lip. It also hurt to breathe. But he had to, didn't he? If he wanted to be the next L... He had to keep on breathing, even if it hurt.

"Mello. Why in the world would you go to a bar?" Roger rubbed his face, making an awful paper-y sound. _Oh, how I hate your face_. "I've put up with so many of your rebellious schemes... This is getting ridiculous." _My rebellious schemes...? You're too kind. Asshole._ "The entire structure of rules Watari came up with for your own sake and safety had to be changed, just so you don't end up in a heap of trouble!" _Heap of trouble, my ass._ "I'd understand your actions if you were in a prison, instead of this fancy orphanage, but come on! You are given countless opportunities that others would die for, but you seem to care more about a life... A life of a criminal!" He stood up and walked over to the window, turning his back at Mello. _Thank the Lord Almighty._

"Anything you want to say for yourself?"

Mello thought for a while. He hasn't said a word since he arrived, which was no more than an hour ago. He wondered if it would hurt to speak, just as it hurt to breathe. It was a long time for him to go without an angry remark, though. It would seem strange if he didn't reply in his usual way... In his usual, signature don't-fuck-with-me attitude. But soon enough his thoughts channeled towards Roger._ He hates us_... _No surprise there... Agh..._ _What an incompetent fool_, he thought somewhat savagely. Just because he's used to living in comfort, doesn't mean that other people are like that too. Mello sighed. "No." Surprisingly his voice was as strong as ever, thus he decided to ask what everybody outside the office were dying to know.

"So, what's my punishment for living the life of a criminal, Roger?"

"Your punishment…?"

"Uh-huh." Mello rolled his eyes, expecting something really dumb and pointless.

"You are suspended from all your classes until further notice. You are to stay in your bedroom at all times and…" Roger scratched the back of his head thoughtfully "… No chocolate or anything that has high amounts of sugar for a month."

Mello scowled at the old man. Obviously, Roger knew that if he missed his classes, his grades would slip. And he left Mello with no power whatsoever to go and make up for the missed work because he was under "room-arrest". If this actually happens, Near will finally be the top student, and he could not allow that. But if Roger thinks this will keep him out of trouble, he is sadly mistaken.

"Am I dismissed?" He didn't wait for an answer, he simply stood up and walked over to the door. As he opened it, the large circle of Wammy's children was presented before him, blocking his path. Life was full of damned metaphors, wasn't it? Always throwing things in his way. _It's fine_, he thought, _he won't stop me from succeeding L, because it is my destiny, and when I'm L they'll all obediently…_

"…_Get the hell out of my way_." Mello was containing his anger and the sudden burst of inspiration, all at the same time. It was strange, but nothing new to Mello. He felt the same bizarre mix of emotions every time Near got a better mark than him. Of course it was obvious that the white-haired fool never studied, and simply got his marks without effort, but it was also widely known that with or without studying, Mello was still be able to get the same scores as Near, unless he got too emotional; which happened all the _time._ These thoughts did him no good... He was getting angrier by the second. _Control yourself, Mello. You'll find a way to catch up with your_ _work and then you can rub it in that idiot Roger's face. _He knew he could do it. Just as he knew he was capable of being the next L; the next mirage that everyone else will strive towards… The next hero that everyone will want to be. And then there was the issue of chocolate... Roger was a real bitch this time-

His gaze fell on Near, who was silently playing in the corner. _That bastard..._ He seemed to pay no attention to the entire epis-

"Yo, Mello!" He knew without looking that it was Subject- the handsome, athletic boy that every girl at Wammy's had a crush on. "Wait up!"

_Oh, what the hell_. Mello turned and, as he has thought, everyone was staring at him. No matter how much he enjoyed the attention, no matter how superior he felt when he was praised so openly, the thought of no chocolate for a month (_for an entire month!_) made his palms itch and his stomach churn. Chocolate wasn't a simple addiction that he had. It was something that he _needed; _something that was a complete part of him. Nobody should dare to take such a thing away. _No one_. Not even that dimwit Roger... Mello's thoughts trailed back to reality. He made a big show of stretching, his shirt riding up and revealing the bruised stomach. Usually, Mello wouldn't flaunt the bruises, thus the gesture was assumed to be accidental, and not considered coy, so no one really noticed. The blond watched (with no appreciation) the handsome kid try to dodge the children, who were scattered along the ground, so he could come closer to Mello. Once reaching his destination, Subject grinned as he saw Mello's beaten face up close. "Who won, ya rabid dog?"

"Who do you think?" Most people cheered at that. Except Matt, of course. He was busy racing or slitting people's throats; however, when the cheers died out, the redhead stood up and cracked his back. And with that out of the way, he approached his rebellious friend.

"Was the victory worth the punishment?" He grinned and high fived Mello. _What an idiot._ _Obviously the victory wasn't worth the punishment… _This pretense was ridiculous, especially after the little meeting with that dipshit. He had decided that he needed to leave. Unfortunately, he did not feel like having a grand exit, so he simply waved at Subject and everyone else who was admiring him and beckoned to Matt with a pointed look on his face.

"Matt, I gotta show you something." Mello took big strides towards the dorms, and Matt followed him- out of curiosity- with his hand still permanently glued onto his gaming device. When they reached Mello's room, he grabbed Matt's vest by the collar and shoved him inside, shutting the door with a slam.

"The hell?"

"I'm suspended from my classes." Mello made an angry gesture with his arms and walked towards his desk. He picked up a folder and a plastic bag filled with little black spheres and gave it to Matt. "I need you to "borrow" extra worksheets for me and place bugs in my classes so I could hear the lesson" Matt took the bag and looked at Mello with disbelief. Mello was never that calm when something _that_ serious had happened.

"Dude... You okay? Why aren't you throwing a tantrum?" Matt reached in to touch the blond's forehead. "Have you got a fever?"

Mello slapped his hand away. "Are you gonna help me or should I take away all your gaming consoles and force you to help me?" That seemed to catch his attention. _Why is he so damn predictable?_ He smiled for once. Actually smiled- not smirked, nor sneered- _smiled_.

"But I skip. It'd be weird if I showed up in all of my classes." The blond shook his head vigorously, his hair catching lights.

"That's why you _accidentally-on-purpose_ walk into my classroom and trip or something, because you were so enthralled in your game!"

Matt nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense… But you owe me a cig pack! I ain't gonna ever go outside after what happened last time with the clerk." Mello didn't want to know what happened with the clerk, but he remembered the time Matt came back from his usual sneak-for-a-cig looking very embarrassed and somewhat angry. He never asked what happened, simply because it might have been one of those Matt-is-antisocial moments.

But after hearing his reply, Mello was shaking with excitement and the after-effects of boiling rage. "Deal." Matt playfully punched his best friend on the shoulder, and winked "Don't do anything dumb, Mels." And as soon as the blond registered what Matt implied, the gamer was already out of the room, running for his life.

"MATT, YOU IDIOT!" But he didn't really mean it.

With Matt gone, Mello looked outside. _I'll be number one, no matter how much you try and stop me._ But he felt hopeless… There was the sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach that told him that maybe… Maybe no matter how much he tried, he'll never be number one. Especially since Near was in his way... Why could he be like Near? Why did he feel angry and sad? Why couldn't he just breathe without emotions...? Was it that hard? Because clearly, being emotionless was the exact reason why Near always had the upper hand. The reason why he was considered the next L. Absentmindedly he punched the wall with an immense force. _WHY CAN'T I BE LIKE NEAR? Why?_ But the anger... The anger was gone just as quick as it appeared.

He sighed and shook his head. Being Mello is so difficult. Sometimes, he just felt like the entire world was against him. And then there was Near. That perfect little bastard… The root of Mello's problems. L's most likely successor. He scowled._  
_

_To hell with "room-arrest", I'm going to the kitchen._

And with that, Mello left his room, in hopes of finding his bitter-sweet chocolate.

**_A/N2_****Oh, I know Near's gotta be in there somewhere, but wait up! :D He's gonna come into the story soon enough /plots. Anything I should edit or update? Let me know, reviews are splendid!**


	2. Vaguely Different

**Author's Note:** _**My lord, another chapter. I was a bit lost as to what to write (thus it's a bit short), and I don't want to dwell into the NearxMello thing too fast, considering Near's cold, calculative self. As you may notice, I've decided to have different POV's, since we all want a little bit of everyone's mind xD  
I'd like to thank everyone who favourited and followed the story. That alone inspired me to write more. Thank you once again. :3 ONTO THE STORY NOW XD**_

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**Vaguely Different**

Nami Child

The classroom was quiet. Near sat on his seat, fighting the subtle urge to prop up his knee against his chest and tuck the other in. But he was a master of poker faces- on the outside, he was as impassive as ever. He brought his hand up so he could twirl a strand of hair while pondering the answer to the last question of the unit exam. Not moving his head, he shifted his gaze to the classroom, noticing the smallest details, and only then moving to view the bigger picture. The teacher sat comfortably at her desk, typing away on her advanced and updated computer. There was a fly, trying to escape the confinements of the room, as it flew over one of the girl's heads, she ducked fearfully, her shoulders tensing and her breaths quickened. She was afraid of insects. He started counting heads, simply out of curiosity. He had decided that everyone seemed to be present (excluding Matt, of course) until his gaze fell on an empty desk by the window. Near instantly knew who the desk belong to; you would too if a person who loathed you with all their heart, for no apparent reason sat there. _Mello's missing_, he thought without interest… It was strange, for he never missed class, let alone exam blocks. But quickly enough, the test occupied his mind once again. He picked up the pencil and scribbled the answer onto the paper, making a scratchy sound in the process. Then, he dug into his pajama pocket and fished out a fairly worn toy robot. Laying his head onto the desk, he silently played with the toy, minding no frustrated stares. It was only thirty minutes into test time, and was already finished; such a quick process of thought was bound to be unsettling, if not frustrating in the house filled with geniuses. Near sighed almost inaudibly- all he could do for the rest of the class time was play with his toy. At least until the teacher gave him permission to leave, which should be right about…

"Near," Now. "You are dismissed. Please leave the exam sheet on your desk, and return to the dormitories."

He stood up, the floor shockingly cold underneath his socked feet; wobbling slightly, he padded along to his room, making sure he did not drift off to his own little world to avoid any unpleasantries. As he walked through the halls, he noticed something vaguely different, yet he couldn't put his finger on it. But it was bothering him to a certain extent; bothering him enough to make him notice. Near passed various rooms (which were quiet due to the fact that it was still exam block), when a loud noise startled him. Regaining his composure and keeping his face as emotionless as possible, he could not help but overhear.

"That son-of-a-bitch!" someone yelled. No, not someone… It could not be Matt, so it must've been…

_CRASH!_

"He won't stand in my way any longer!"

Mello. _What did he break this time?_

As if on cue, the blond burst out of the room; opening the door with such immense force, it screamed on its hinges, hit the wall and closed back up again with a loud slam. Near froze on his tracks when he saw Mello's face. His blond hair was disheveled and his icy blue eyes had sickly purple bags underneath. The bruises from the recent fight haven't healed yet and left frightening marks upon his face. When those azure eyes fell on Near, they narrowed.

"What the _fuck_ do you want?" Mello's eyes turned into tiny slits and shined with venomous hatred.

"I would suggest you get a hold of your emotions, Mello… It would be a pity if you missed another exam block." As Near spoke, he hadn't faltered his gaze. He simply continued to shuffle towards his room.

"What did you just say you motherfu—"

"_Mello._" A voice called out from a room beside the blond's. Matt. Definitely Matt. It was funny how he always appeared just in time when Mello was about to explode in rage. It was as if they read each other's minds. Was that how friendship worked? Did having a companion mean that you were seldom to do something you regret? Or was it a mere thought, superior to logical understandings? Nevertheless, Near didn't stay long to find out. He quickened his pace just so, without being too obvious.

Once he was in his room, Near sat on the ground before his current project. He intended to build a skyscraper made entirely out of bottle caps; not a very creative idea, but it required a great amount of patience, just how Near liked it. However, at the moment, he did not feel like stacking anything. His mind was too preoccupied with the thought as to why he didn't get assaulted by Mello during their brief, unpleasant encounter. Usually, when Near has said too much (and yes, what he said to Mello in the hall was more than enough to set him off to either verbally attack, or physically assault; although the last one seldom happening since Mello preferred to be fairer with his opponents). Mello would shove him violently against a wall and shout, thus redeeming his superiority.

Why was Near even thinking of these things?

Was he somehow concerned for Mello's well-being?

Was it because he longed companionship from someone intellectually strong as him?

Surely, there must've been a reason. However, Near did not wish to know for once. He didn't understand the hatred, and so he simply left it out there for Mello to control. But he didn't see why the blond would despise him so very much. Shouldn't it have been the other way around? It was fairly obvious that Mello- once let out of Wammy's- could be anything he wants. He had all the abilities others wished to have; he was charming and he could hold a conversation with almost anyone. He could do whatever he pleased, whereas Near… Near wouldn't survive in the modern world for more than a week.

So why was Mello the jealous one?

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"Matt, you asshole." The two friends were in the study room, the blond listening to the recent lesson and the redhead deep into his PSP.

"You would have screamed at him if you really wanted to, despite my futile efforts to stop you." Matt frowned as his character was mortally injured. "Shit, gotta find a health pack."

Mello slapped his friend on the shoulder. "You know that's not true! I always listen to you… When you have something _useful_ to say, that is." He curled on the sofa, groaning as his head pulsed with pain. The entire bug-my-classroom operation succeeded, thanks to Matt, but his grades were still slipping since he could not do the exams without contradicting everything the punishment has stated. He was irritated beyond measure (not to mention his head hurt from the fight he had in that bar). _Damn… Roger really thought this one through, that son-of-a-whore._ He sighed. It was impossible to be the first if he was stripped of all the opportunities, it was _so_ unfair. And the lack of chocolate just made it worse. The cravings were cutting across the pit of his stomach, sharpening every time he moved, causing him to arch his back just so he didn't have to move his torso as much. His mental state was a complete wreck; the brain that used work at a fast pace was working even faster, leaving him with no room to fully process the intelligent thoughts, thus leaving him in the foulest of moods. _I'm like a bitch on a period_, he thought bitterly. Punching the pillow of the damned sofa, he was once again reminded of Near. He managed not to think about their little encounter, but now his efforts to forget seemed rather futile. Mello's jealousy was poisoning his heart, filling his mind with irrational thoughts and making him wince as if he was scalded with boiling water. He couldn't believe he was not permitted to attend exam blocks. He simply could not believe it. And that little fucking sheep was walking through the halls, making sure that Mello was faced with that harsh reality. _I hate him so much. So. Fucking. Much._

"… yet?" Somebody was talking. Matt.

"Hmm? Sorry, I was spacing out…" Mello sat up, straightening his shoulders. Few girls turned to watch him ruffle hair and fix his shirt. He was well liked, perhaps a bit less than Subject, but alas, the girls at Wammy's would kill to catch his gaze.

"I asked if you ate yet. You have these big-ass bags under your lookers. It's bothering me." Matt stood up and stretched. He lowered himself again, and brought his face close to Mello's. "Want some chocolate?" He winked through his orange goggles and grinned. 'I know you haven't had your fix yet… You hopeless addict."

"Fuck you." The blond gave him one of his grateful smiles, that only Matt knew how to recognize. It was obvious that the gamer was going to sneak into the kitchen to get him some chocolate; it was a very considerate gesture on his part. What was Mello gonna do without that turd?

As Matt left, Mello reclined back into the sofa, drowned by the softness of it. He picked up a random book that littered the floor and opened it, landing on a random page he thought he'd read…

"_She knew hating him wouldn't do her any good. She thought about it long enough to realize that the only reason she hated him was because she was trying to conceal her true feeling" _He laughed humorlessly,_ "But what were her true feelings? Jaime wasn't really sure. But she knew that him being a werewolf only further complicated her feeling. She wasn't trying to hi-"_

He couldn't stand the sappy romance anymore considering the state he was in, so he snapped the book shut and threw it across the study room. The book hit the wall with a loud bang and landed near supervisor's feet. The impact had left a dent in the wall, and the result of the outburst was visible on students' faces. Paying no particular attention to the pupils, he stood up and stormed off to his dorm. While exiting he was heard saying bitterly "This is fucking ridiculous."

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**A/N2: ****_Nope. Me no own DN. Although when I become the God of the new world, I just might._**


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